Playing-ball.



Patented onlzs, 1902.,

No. 7|2,4|s.

' r. n. RICHARDS.

" PLAYING BALL.

(Application filed July 24, 1902,)

(No Model.)

Witnesses- 152/ 121 071 ma Noam: vzrzns co. PNOTOLITHQ, WASHINGTON. o,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS H. RICHARDS, OE HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE KEMPSHALL MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF ARLINGTON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY. Y I

PLAYING-BALL.

SPECIFICATION To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, FRANCIS H. RIcHARns,a citizen of the United States, residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Playing-Balls, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to playing-balls, especially those used in golf, and its object is to furnish at low cost a durable ball which has great flying power, but is dead under a light blow. I t

In the drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a part-sectional view. of a ball made in accordance with my improvements. Fig. 2 is a part-sectional view illustrating a stage in completing a core or filling. Fig. 3 isa view of the preferred form of rubber shell employed in the interior of the core, this view showing the shell in its normal or unexpanded condition. y Upon a shell 1 of solid rubber I wind thread 2 continuously in differentdirections to form a core or inner ball A. I prefer to .use fine cotton thread possessing some elasticity, which I wind in a state of high tension. Owing to the fineness of the windings and to the tension of the textile material I malie a ballotcore which is nearly solid and consists of a multitude of thin layers eachtensioned in all directions. Before the thread is wound on, the hollow within the rubber shell 1 may be filled by acenter piece 4, of gutta-percha'or other material,which may beinjected through a hollow stem 5, formed for convenience upon the shell 1. In some cases, however,a center piece 4 need not be provided before the winding on of the thread. I C t t Owing to its compactness, as well as to the tensioned condition of its layers, the core A ishighly resilient under a heavy blow, this qualitybeinginoreased by the presence of the soft-rubber sphere or layer 1 within 1 the I wound shell andbeing further increased by the presence of the hard center, as 4:, within the soft rubber.

Before applying a cover to the core A, I prefer. to inject softened or fluent material 4 under pressure to an extent to expand both so the rubber sphere 1 and also the layers comforming part of Letters Patent No. 712,415, dated October 28, 1902. Application filed July 24.1902.

Serial No, 116,760. (Nomodeld prising the wound shell, as illustrated at Fig.

2. This'process is set forth in Patent No.

1 696,351. The material 4:, which is preferably gutta percha, may be injected while hot through a nozzleti, inserted in the tubular stem 5, force being applied to the fiuentguttapercha by means of a piston 6. The pres sure .may be made very high to the end not only to tension the rubber shell 1, and thereby increase its liveliness, but also to tension the windings practically to the li nitand compact them into a solid or highly-compressed shell,

which by reason partly of its substantial solidity and partly on account of its longitudinal tension is extremely lively under a hard blow; ;Upon the core thus formed I apply a shell 7, preferably of guttapercha and preferably holding the core A under high compression.

It will be observed thatowing to the mobility of the tensioned soft-rubber shell 1 within the compressed wound sphere the latter is 'to some extent depressible, although owing to the solidity of said rubber shell 1 and of the injected core 4 as well as to the tension of the wound layers, said expanded shell A tends instantly upon being depressed to recover its normal shape, this tendency being highly augmented by the elasticity developed in the thread itself when stretched to the proper limit. It will be further understood that owing to the constant compression by the shell 7 of the depressible tensioned sphere A with its solid mobile interior the whole ,ball tends instantly to recover its spherical .form upon being distorted by a blow, and hence the flying power of the ball is rendered phenomenal. It will also be understood that the compressed sphere A is very hard and not much affected by a light blow and that the same is also true of the shell 7, so that for F putting the ball is dead, and hence desirable for. the game. I

It will be perceived that the structure shown at Fig. 3 may be covered'by a shell withoutfirst expanding the rubber and thread 5 shells, although I prefer such expansion for the reasons given. 1

Variations in construction and other particulars may be resorted to within the scope of my invention, and portions of my improve- 10o .said shell under ments may be used without others. As a substitute for cotton thread there may be employed silk thread, woolen yarn, or any other elastic thread. 7

Having described myinvention, I claim- 1. A playing-ball comprising a small sphere of hard material, a shell of soft rubber there on, tight windings of thread upon said rubber shell,"and. a cover of gutta-percha holding said thread under compression.

2. A playing-ball comprising a small, hard body, a layer of tensioned rubber thereon, tight windings of thread forming a substantial layer upon said rubber layer, and ashell of plastic material holding said thread under compression.

3. A playing-ball comprising a small, hard body, a layer of tensioned soft rubber thereon, a highly-compressed substantial solid sphere thereon consisting of numerous layers of fine thread wound tightly in miscellaneous directions, and a cover of plastic material holding said sphere under compression.

4. A playing-ball comprising a compressed sphere consisting of tight windings of thread, and a solid sphere filling said thread sphere, and tending to expand the same.

A playingsball comprisingacompressed sphere consisting of tight windings of thread, a solid sphere filling said thread sphere and tending to expand the same, and a hard shell holding said thread sphere under compresslon.

6. In a playing-ball, a sphere of thread distended by a core of plastic material injected thereinto, and a hard cover.

7. In a playing-ball, a sphere of thread distended by mobile substance injected thereinto, and a hard cover, said thread being in a state of compressionbetween-said injected substance and said cover.

8. In a playing-ball, a sphere of thread (listended by gutta-percha injected thereinto.

9. In a playing ball, tight windings of thread forming a substantial shell, said shell being distended by mobile material injected thereinto, and a hard cover upon said thread.

10. In a playing-ball, tight windings of cotton thread forming a substantial shell, said shell being distended by mobile substance injected thereinto, and a hard cover holding compression.

11. In a playing-ball, tight windings of thread forming a substantial shell, said shell being distendedby a hard injected body, and' a cover of gutta-percha holding said thread under compression.

12. In a playing-ball,a sphere of thread distended by plastic material injected thereinto, a sphere of soft yielding material intervening between said thread and said injected material, and a hard cover.

13 In a p1aying-ball,a sphere of thread distended by mobile substance injected thereinto, a sphere of soft rubber intervening between said thread and said injected material, and a hard cover.

14. In a playing-ball,a sphere of thread distended by mobile substance injected thereinto, an expanded sphere of soft rubber intervening between said thread and said injected material, and a hard cover holding said thread under compression.

15. In a playing-ball, a sphere-consisting of tight windings of thread, said sphere being compressed and said windings distended by mobile material injected thereinto, and a hard cover.

16. In a playing-ball, a sphere consisting of tight windings of thread, said sphere being compressed and'said windings distended by mobile material injected thereinto, a layer of mobile material intervening between said thread and said injected material, and a hard cover. Y

17. In a playing-ball, a cover of plastic materialholding under compression an expanded layer of thread windings, an expanded layer of rubber, and a hard central body.

18. In a playing-ball, a cover of gutta-percha holding under compression an expanded layer consisting of tight windings of thread, an expanded layer of rubber, and a hardcentral body. I

19. Ina playing-ball, a substantial shell consisting of tight windings of thread, said shell being distended by plastic material injected thereinto, a tensioned layer of rubber intervening between said plastic material-and said shell, and a cover of gutta-percha holding said thread under compression.

FRANCIS H. RICHARDS.

WVitnesses:

B. O. STICKNEY, JOHN O. SEIFERT. 

